Vucic: Serbia Not to As Much As Step on Montenegro’s Shadow

Aleksandar Vucic,Belgrade, May 3 2023 (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Belgrade that a meeting earlier that day with his Montenegrin counterpart, Jakov Milatovic, confirmed that “stronger ties are of utmost international importance,” adding that they “talked in a trust-building way, even though they had their differences over some issues.”

“I want us to build a better relationship gradually. For Serbia, Montenegro is an important partner not only because of economic cooperation, but traditionally close ties as well,” Vucic said during a July 10 press conference he shared with Milatovic, recalling that many Serbs lived in Montenegro, and many Montenegrins inhabited Serbia.

The Serbian president cautioned that “many in Montenegro have been trying to invigorate a fear of Serbia, saying that Serbia wants or expects something from Montenegro.” The president also said he talked with his guest “in a civilized, normal way, supposed to build trust between us and our state institutions in the future.”

The two presidents also discussed the extradition of a Montenegrin national, Svetozar Marovic, a former president of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. “I promised that we would take into consideration everything Milatovic had said, and provide adequate, well-grounded responses,” Vucic said.

When Montenegrin journalists asked him about the extradition of Marovic to Montenegro, President Vucic asked them back if they “ever thought about the pain Serbia might feel as Montenegro has recognized the illegal secession of a part of the Serbian territory.” “Have you asked yourselves if it hurt us when a Serbian ambassador was expelled from Montenegro?” the president wanted to know. Vucic said that in the next 10 to 12 days the name of Serbia’s new ambassador to Montenegro would be announced.